One day in 1977 in the Sydney Opera House library, I scrawled his "nine degrees" lessons into my notepad. I had no idea that I would often return to these notes for guidance - not only in acting, but in almost any field.

*from Leonard Cabell. Pronko, THEATER EAST AND WEST. Perspectives toward a total theater.

Zeami advises actors to start with with getting a grounding at number 5 (ample and precise), then try the higher grades (6 and up) and only go for the lower grades later.

I try to think I do my camera work with precision and amplitude (i.e. attention to detail while managing the big picture). Just once in I while I imagine I might be verging on what Zeami calls "the style of the genuine flower" but it's fleeting.

Zeami talks of artists who attain the "Style of the Marvellous Flower" happening only once in every few hundred years.

I find I often think about where I'd put certain artists (like Brian Wilson) in terms of Zeami's Degrees. Or Chaplin. Or Pina Bausch. Even non-actors, like some gifted mechanics. It helps me get a perspective. That's pretty much all I retain of Zeami's writings: get good at what you do, then try to get a bit of magic into it, and only when you can't get any better do you allow yourself to do the rougher stuff. Oh, and I do remember the bit about the duty of the artist to pass on his/her trade. (Which brings me to contemplate some exceptional teachers I've known, those who were merely powerful and meticulous, and the majority whose simple precision and amplitude got the job done).

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/zeami-motoyiko-zeami/1101966103?ean=9780231139595